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Dell xps 1730

Introduction

Dell's XPS 1730 is the company's flagship gaming notebook, and is available in several configurations. Dell has sent us the lottery winner' configuration, which has every high-end part, feature, and doodad imaginable. With its Intel Penryn CPU (that's overclockable), two NVIDIA 8800M GTX cards in SLI and loads of bling, the M1730 has every next-gen part available and is tricked out with lights like no notebook we've ever seen before. Some might say the M1730 is a bit over the top, but we love its audacious styling and find little to fault in Dell's high-end laptop. read full story...

Apple Settles iPod Class Action Suits

Apple has agreed to settle a pair of Canadian class action lawsuits that charged Apple misled consumers about battery life in its portable music players.

Apple has agreed to settle (PDF) a pair of class action lawsuits brought against it in Canada by Inez Lenzi and Bradley Waddell that accused the company of misleading consumers about the battery life of its famous iPod portable media players. Under terms of the settlement, customers who bought particular iPods in Canada on or before June 24, 2004, will be eligible for $45 CDN credit in the Apple Canada online store.

The suits alleged Apple misled consumers by claiming the iPods were capable of 8 to 10 hours of continuous music playback; however, as users recharged their iPods, the battery life declined over time, in some cases holding a charge good only for two or three hours of music playback.

The settlement follows along the lines of a separate U.S. class action lawsuit the company settled in 2005 over Apple iPod battery life; in that settlement, Apple agreed to give customers $50 in store credit or $25 cash if the batteries in certain early iPods dropped below particular levels.

Store credits received under the class action settlement must be used within 12 months.

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Microsoft Lowers Budget PC XP Prices

Microsoft is cutting the price of its XP operating system for low-cost, ultra-portable laptops, as long as they meet stringent specifications, which could significantly increase the company's market share in developing countries.

Microsoft has announced that it will significantly cut the price on its XP operating system for low-cost, ultra-portable laptops, although they�ll have to be specific guidelines in order to qualify, IDG reports.

That could well greatly increase the company�s market share in developing countries, where it�s estimated that the number of those types of machines will grow dramatically in the next few years.

In order to qualify, the laptop would have to have no more than 1GB of RAM, a processor of 1GHz or less, no more than an 80GB hard drive, no touch screen and a screen no larger than 10.2 inches.

The plan is to sell copies of XP to computer makers in China and India for $26, a great deal less than a home copy costs in the West.

Since many of the low-cost laptops on the market use Linux, this is a strong move by Microsoft to capture a larger market share in places where it�s not as big as it would like to be � although laptops like the Asus Eee, which meets the specs, are proving popular in developed nations, too, and they lack the capacity to runs Windows Vista.

Microsoft announced earlier this year that it will stop selling XP for regular desktops and laptops at the end of June, but it will make XP available for low0cost laptops until 2010.

iPhone Going Non-Exclusive on More Carriers

More international carriers are announcing deals to carry Apple's iphone, including multiple operators in India and Australia.

Singapore's SingTel has issued a brief announcement that they will offer Apple's iPhone later in 2008�and, like the announcement with Vodaphone�the deals break with Apple's previous pattern of signing exclusive deals with mobile operators in each market. According to the new announcements, the iPhone will be offered by SingTel and affiliated companies in Singapore, the Philippines, India, and Australia�which means the iPhone will be available from multiple mobile operators in both Australia and India.

The SingTel deal encompasses several mobile operators, including Australia's Optus (which is a SingTel subsidiary), along with Bharti Airtel and Globe Telecom in India and the Philippines. SingTel is a major investor in both Bharti Airtel and Globe Telecom. SingTel itself will offer the iPhone in Singapore.

The new deals seem to indicate a distinct shift in how Apple is marketing the iPhone outside of the United States. When Apple began introducing the iPhone to international markets, it made exclusive deals with a single operator in each market. By enabling multiple operators to offer the device, Apple is probably hoping to increase overall volume sales of the iPhone, as well as the number of legitimate iPhone customers internationally. Limits on iPhone availability have made the handset a hot item on the grey market, where customers purchase handsets in one country, and use them on compatible networks in markets that don't have official iPhone availability.